Letting an employee go is one of the hardest thing a manager has to go through. It is the most difficult part of their job and is dreaded by many, after all we are all humans. After working with the person for long time, you tend to have a humane connection with them and telling them that they are no longer part of the organisation can be a little difficult. As a human being, you should feel a little dread but as a team player and for the sake of your organisation, you have to let the poor performers go.

Due to guilt, stress of letting someone go, the fear of telling them that they are fired or being scared of the legal reasons, often managers keep procrastinating. Keeping them on the team no matter what reason it is can be a sense of disservice for your rest of the teammates. They have been working hard to meet the goals and crack deals, but just because of one or two people all their hard work sometimes goes in vain.

If you are someone who finds letting an employee go a little stressful, we have here some simple steps that you can follow:

Find the right process to deliver message:

This is one major roadblock in terminating someone. How to tell them that they are no longer needed, although this might not change anything but how you say it can make a big difference. Avoid bombing them with the word termination. It can freak them out affecting their morale and their career. Also, for rest of the teammates, you will be labelled as the villain who fired their friend. Show a little sympathy, while delivering the message.

Consult the human resource:

Before announcing it to the team, you should consult the human resources as well. Discuss the performance of the member with them and compare the goals. Ask them about the right grounds on which you can terminate the said person. Once you are sure that you are doing the right thing, you can go ahead with the decision.

Give time to improve themselves:

This is something, which can really help in bringing about a change in person’s behaviour towards his or her work. You can discuss their performance, telling them the news of possible termination due to poor performance at work. Give them time of 15 days or 1 month to improve on it. If they are not successful in turning the tables around, it will be easy for them to accept the termination as well as for you to break the news.

Offer help for finding another job/ being their reference:

This is something one will definitely appreciate about you. You are at a good position knowing several people in the industry. Show interest in helping the person about a new job. Share contacts of HR, people from recruitment for making their career relocation a little stressful. After all, end of one job is not end of the career. Show them how this job is just a stepping-stone in the career ladder.

Give help in finalizing the paper work:

Once everything is done, you should also help them in finishing the paper work with the company and this includes timely delivery of full and final amount from the company end. Your teammates as well as the employee you just let go will appreciate this about you.

It can be a difficult thing to let someone go, but you should take it sportingly as part of your job. Do it the right way for better results.